Prospecting through email or with a blog

When I saw this headline "E-mail or blog? Best ways to prospect online" in an industry trade magazine, my first thought was, holy crap, they just don't get it do they? How on earth can you even compare the two. They are completely different and target a difference audience.

Email: old media. Blog: new media. It's here folks. People have become so numb to email that its a chore just to check email every day. Email is a one way street; a linear form of communication. A blog on the other hand promotes thought, community and involvement.

Thank goodness this article helps me validate my reasoning for project ShoutVoice, my new business. My work is important. My work is necessary. Participants in this industry are slow to adopt mostly because they don't have the support staff to help them along the way.

People don't want a boring one dimensional email. They want to see, touch, discuss, feel. If you want to use email to tell your customer base about your great website/blog, by all means, do it. But don't market with email. Build your brand visually. Start a community. I am.

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Wordpress reverting to default theme fix/hack

Although I still don't know what is causing this, for some reason, within the past week or so, using Wordpress 2.1.3 and I would assume 2.2+, every so often Wordpress reverts back to the default K2 theme. I would change it back, and then in the morning, bam, back to the default. I found a blog post that helped me fix the problem, and I apologize I can't find the link.

In any event, here is how I fixed the problem.

1. Rename your default theme folder to something else (_default)

2. Copy your selected theme to a new folder called default. Make sure this is a copy not the original. However, you could just rename your desired theme folder to default and select it from the list of themes.

That seemed to fix my problem. It's a complete hack and I'd like to understand what the problem is. The blog post I read said its most likely its a timing issue with the web server and how Wordpress handles it. I'm not sure. So I hope this helps. It has for me.

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I lived 070707

That's right, years from now I want to be able to show my kids that I lived through 070707. One of the most unique days ever. There are probably a thousand reasons why it's unique. There are only 5 more years where we can have these special days. The remaining ones are 080808, 090909, 101010, 111111 (this one will be a VERY unique day), and 121212. Have fun on this unique day.

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Giving Props To My Peeps

This weeks props:

My Wife, Gina. This Woman has been through so much over the past year. In August we were in an automobile accident that nearly took our lives. Gina sustained a broken neck, torn ligaments in her shoulder and numerous other injuries. Everyone survived but my dear Wife was hurt the worst.

She was just getting started training for Triathlons. In fact she completed her first Triathlon in May of 2006 and was training for her next when the accident occurred. As you can imagine her training has been on hold, and still is. But yesterday she got on her bike for the first time sine August 2006. I'm so proud of her. I know that she will have many obstacles in her way but she will over come them all.

Thank you honey for being such an inspiration to me and everyone around you. [Sorry, no web site for her, but I'm trying]

Lorri and Cammon Randle. Ok, so they are two, but they work together. Thanks to both of you. Thank you for showing me that young people still have the drive to make big things happen. I appreciate your willingness to help your fellow Geek. I'm excited to see where you take all of this. Rock On! [CopperRain, MediaJoltz]

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America is still the greatest place on Earth

Despite all the problems people think the United States has, it's still the greatest place on the planet. I'm grateful to have been born in the United States. Proud to have served in the military defending the freedoms of the United States. Excited to be part of the future United States of America. I encourage everyone to look at what you can do to make this Country stronger. There are many things to do, including voting. It's your Country, help shape its future.

This Country relies on its Citizens to make things happen. The current generation must take control and build a strong future. You have the ability. There has never been a time in history where so many can be reached and real change made. Do it. Do it today.

Shout out to all my Military brothers, especially my United States Marine brother. Semper Fidelis. Ooh Rah!

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